Congressman Tom Kean, who represents New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, visited New Jersey Blood Services’ (NJBS) Scotch Plains Donor Center on Monday, August 10, to meet NJBS staff and donors, learn more about the blood, platelet, and plasma donation process, and identify ways his office could support NJBS’s work in the wake of recent blood emergencies and the ongoing, longer term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the visit, Congressman Kean shared that he would co-sponsor the BLOOD Centers Act (HR 5791), legislation which would expedite the licensure pathway for blood centers to open new collection sites like the Scotch Plains Donor Center. The BLOOD Centers Act was part of a larger collection of legislative priorities New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) employees spoke about with Congressional offices during America’s Blood Centers’ (ABC) Advocacy Summit on Capitol Hill in June.
Earlier in the summer, Congressman Kean’s office issued a certificate of recognition to North Hunterdon High School, which was honored during NYBC and NJBS’s High School Blood Drive Champions Event at Yankee Stadium. While in Scotch Plains, Congressman Kean expressed his admiration for NJBS’s work and conveyed his desire to share that work with the general public, while recognizing other individuals and organizations for their achievements in donating blood and organizing blood drives.
Special thanks to the collections team in Scotch Plains for giving Congressman Kean and his District Director Erin D’Auria such a warm welcome: Bonaventure Durugo, Kass Pagiazitis, Taylor DeCuevas, Candice Johnson, Kyleigh Smith, and Abigail Perez.